Repetitive
by Sunshine in a Dark Heart
Summary: Men are repetitive creatures, if they cheat on you once, they’ll cheat on you twice. If they leave you once…well, I’ll let you come to that conclusion.
1. Chapter 1

_There just are not enough stories out there with Jacob!! He deserves more – after all he never left Bella! I don't know where exactly this is going to go – and whether or not I continue it is based totally of you guys. _

_Just know that I hate stories that are all the same – so I will try to make this as different as I possibly can._

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The mystery of love is greater than the mystery of death.

--Unknown

**Chapter 1:**

It was happening all over again. I should have known that it would. Men are repetitive creatures, if they cheat on you once, they'll cheat on you twice. If they leave you once…well, I'll let you come to that conclusion.

Despite all his promises, here I was alone again. I wasn't sobbing in the middle of the woods this time. I don't think that the situation had really set in yet. I was in shock, sitting on top of my bed, staring at god knows what.

He hadn't even have the decency to come tell me this time. He was just going to leave with out saying a word, not a "good bye", "sorry" or even "never try to find us." He would have just been gone. Alice wouldn't take it. She's pissed. She's the one who came and told me what was happening.

She told me about how she was going to stay behind to be with me and when she was strong enough, she would turn me but in the end, she couldn't leave Jasper, and he wouldn't stay here. The temptation of human blood would be too tempting, especially without the support of the rest of his family. Alice would never leave him behind. So she was going with them.

Now that was love. The two would never leave each other. Not like Edward does with me. he was just so…so…

Uhh oh. It was starting to sink in.

_I'm not going to cry! I'm not going to cry! _I cried to much last time. I became a whole new person – I wouldn't let that happen again.

He had left me. The little sorry bastard left me again.

_Stop it Bella! Think of something else. Think of….think of the beach – the ocean crashing against the shore, calming, relaxing…_

It wasn't working.

I could feel the anger rising in me. He had left me again. Everything he had said had been a lie.

There was a knock at my bedroom door. If I ignored it, would Charlie go away? No. "I need some time alone right now, dad." I was surprised at my own voice. I had never heard it like that before. It was stressed with so many different emotions which made it sound hoarse and week.

Charlie didn't respond, just opened the door. I mean honestly, doesn't a comment like "I need some time alone right now" mean that I don't want company? – Apparently not. I looked up to ask Charlie to leave but was surprised to be staring into a different face.

"Jacob, what are you doing here?" I hadn't seen him in awhile, thanks to that wonderful little Edward. To think that I almost lost a good friend because of that jerk. Jacob never came to the house anymore. He claimed the scent was too bad, so why was here now, standing in front of me.

"I, um…I noticed…" he was stumbling for the right words, my attitude probably caught him off guard. He took a deep breath and started over. "The pack and I noticed that the Cullens were not in the area, we were wondering if you knew when they might be coming back."

His words some how confirmed everything that Alice had said to me. Yep, it was definitely sinking in. "you couldn't have just called?" I had never heard a voice with less emotion.

"I wanted to see you." That was the phrase that did it for me. That was my breaking point. All the tears came pouring from me. Tears I wasn't aware I even had.

_Why didn't Edward want to see me?_

Jacob, as confused as he may have been, didn't miss a beat. Immediately he was on my bed, pulling me towards him, rocking me like a baby while I cried.

"They aren't coming back, are they?" I couldn't respond, just started to cry harder. He pulled me closer to him and softly stroked my back while I got all my tears out. I had forgotten how warm he could get along with how comforting his presence was to me. I was able to quiet down faster than if I had been alone, or with anyone else.

"Why did I take him back?" I asked, not really knowing that I was speaking out loud. "why didn't I just stay with you and the rest of the pack?"

It was quiet again, only the occasional whimper that I assume came from me. He never let go of me and I never tried to get away. Who knows how much time flew by before Jake finally broke the silence. "I don't want you to be alone tonight."

"I'll be fine." I said it, but I knew I would have a hard time going to sleep tonight. I didn't want to be alone myself.

"Bella, come back to LaPush with me, I'll talk to Charlie so you don't have to worry about that."

I was surprised to find that I wanted to go with him. I didn't want to stay here in this house. But I wasn't sure if it was the best idea. "I don't…"

"I'll go talk to Charlie." Jake interrupted. He wasn't going to take no for an answer. He got up form the bed and headed downstairs. Alone again in my room, I could feel the tears start to come back up. I wanted Jacob back up here. Luckily, it didn't take him long.

"Get what you need for the night, than we'll head up to my place."

"What did you tell Charlie?" I asked curious as to what he had said to convince him

"That we were going to run off to Vegas, get married and give him plenty of little grandkids to spoil." For some reason this made me smile. That was something that I could do with Jacob that I could never do with Edward. Have kids.

WOW – don't know where that though came from.

I got everything that I would need to spend the night somewhere than we left. The drive didn't take long since Jacob's VW Rabbit was faster than my truck. We went strait to Jake's little house and he brought my bag in for me. Billy was sitting in the living room when we got there.

"Bella! Its so good to see you." Billy said when he noticed I was there.

"You too Bill." He could tell something was off with me and looked at Jacob for answers. Jacob just shook his head. He would explain later, when I wasn't there.

"Bella's gunna spend the night tonight, I hope you don't mind."

"I guess it won't hurt anybody." Billy replied.

"Good! Bella, why don't you go get dressed for bed, you know where my room is, you can sleep there tonight." He was treating me like a child, but I didn't care. Exhaustion was setting in, all I wanted was to sleep.

I nodded and headed for his room. After I changed, I glimpsed at his bed. I couldn't go back out there, I needed sleep. I crawled under the covers and immediately could smell Jacobs scent. It was nice, comforting. My eyes shut at the same time that my head hit his pillow. I heard a light knocking, but I was already entering that dream state, so I couldn't remember how to answer.

I heard the door open, and someone walk in. _Jacob._ He walked to where I was lying on his bed and I felt his hot finger touch my check, catching a tear that had escaped without me knowing. "Oh Bella" he carefully lay down beside me, not wanting to disturb me, than pulled me to him for the second time that night. That was the first night that I fell asleep in another man's arms.

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_okay – tell me what you think – should I continue?_


	2. Chapter 2

_Thank you for the reviews!! It's nice to know that I'm not the only one who loves Jacob! – and let me apologize for any errors – I usually re-read things fast, and though I catch most of my stuff – a lot goes un-noticed until a reader says something. So I apologize if there are any._

_I hope you enjoy!!_

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Every really new idea looks crazy at first.

-Alfred North Whitehead (1861-1947)

**Chapter 2:**

When I woke up the next morning, I knew immediately that something was off. The normally too cold of an arm that was wrapped around me was now abnormally hot and much heavier that it was supposed to be. Someone was also snoring right in my ear.

I opened my eyes to find that I was curled up with Jacob. How did he get into my room with out me hearing? Why was he even here to begin with? And where was Edward?

Edward.

A tear came down my cheek as I remembered that I wasn't in my room. I was at Jacob's. He brought me here after he found me in my room, devastated from the news of Edward. Twice now this had happened.

A sob escaped me waking up the sleepy Jacob that lye beside me. "Bella,"

"I'm sorry I woke you." I sniffled, yeah, this was a little awkward. Kind of like when you wake up one morning only to discover that you just had sex with some stranger. Only we didn't have sex, and Jacob wasn't a stranger. But the awkwardness was still there.

"Do you want me leave?" I almost laughed at the irony of me kicking him out of his own room, almost. But in all honesty I didn't want him to go. I knew that he was the one that was holding me together. If he left, I'm sure I would go into some sort of catatonic state. So I had two reasons to answer what I did.

"No, please, just stay here a little while longer." And he did. We stayed on his bed for a good hour, just holding each other. As I took in his scent and his warmth, I realized that I had never felt so at home. Even when Edward had held me, I felt comfortable and safe, but with Jacob, it was more like returning home after a long journey.

"Hey Bella?" I looked up at Jacob, not really trusting my voice just yet, and waited for him to continue. "What do you say we go get something to eat?"

Trust Jacob to be hungry. He was, after all a werewolf. I didn't know if I would be able to eat anything, but I wasn't going to make him starve because of my own personal problems. "Sure, we can do that." I got up and grabbed the change of clothes that I had brought and left to use there only bathroom. When I looked in the mirror, I was surprised to find that I didn't look as bad as I did the first time that Edward left me. My eyes were slightly puffy from crying, but that was it. There was no obvious sign of trauma as there was last summer. When I got out of the restroom, Jacob was sitting on the couch in the living room staring into the television.

For the first time in a long while I saw him not as the boy that I met when I first came to forks, or even the Jacob that I hung out with over the summer, the one that made me whole. No, this one was a man. No one would ever guess that he was younger than I. He looked more like he was in his twenties. Becoming a werewolf had forced him to age much faster than anyone ever should. His face had matured and had new lines on it from all the transformations he had gone through. His shoulders had broadened out even more since the last time I saw him, making him appear as strong as he really was. He smiled at something he saw on the TV. It was a gorgeous smile, one that showed the little boy that was still somewhere inside.

"Where is Billy?" I asked as I walked into the room to see what was making him smile. _Monster Garage_. Figures it would be some car show.

"Charlie came at the crack of dawn and the two left to go fishing. He doesn't know about you and Edward, does he?" he had said the last part much softer and carefully as if walking on glass.

I shook my head no. "It won't take long for him to find out. There is bound to be talk about how the Cullen's once again left. He should figure it out by tomorrow when he goes into work."

Jacob nodded and stood up from the couch, hitting the power button on the tube at the same time. "I thought that maybe we could go over to Sam and Emily's place to get something to eat. She always has something cooking for when one of us stops by, and Emily would love to see you again. She keeps complaining about the lack of females around. Asking when you're coming back." I did want to see Emily again, but I didn't know if I would be up to seeing the rest of the pack, not quite yet at least. As if reading my mind, Jacob added "the pack went for a run last night, knowing them, they didn't get back till the sun came up. They won't be around till noon at the earliest."

It was only nine in the morning, giving us a good three hours before they should be up. "It will be nice to see Emily again, lets go."

When we got there, Jacob walked right in, as if he lived there. I knew it was like a second home to him and the rest of his "brothers." Emily was just pulling a batch of muffins from the oven, and Sam was sitting at the counter, nursing a cup of coffee and reading some news paper.

Sam noticed us first, probably catching Jacob's scent the moment we entered the house. "Jacob, where were you last night?" he asked with out looking up from the paper obviously not seeing that I was there.

Emily looked up from her muffins, and locked eyes contact with me. She took in a quick breath, and was quickly in front of me giving me a big motherly hug. When she let me go, she lightly slapped my arm. "How dare you leave me alone with all of these boys!" she said in mock chastisement.

Sam looked up to see what the commotion was about and smiled when he saw me. "Bella, so you're the reason Jacob was unreachable last night."

"Well come sit down, have a muffin." Emily placed a hot muffin in front of a vacant seat, so I sat and took a small bite. It was delicious, it didn't take long for me to finish the whole thing and start working on a second. Hunger from not eating dinner the previous night was hitting me. Jacob came and sat next to me, grabbing a few muffins for himself. "I'll whip up some eggs and bacon for the two of you, in the meantime, tell me what you've been up to."

I found it easier to talk than I thought it would have been. "Not much" I said honestly. Ever since Edward and I had gotten back from Italy, we had pretty much just spent time with each other. Going on dates in Port Angeles, shopping with Alice and hanging out in the clearing in the woods. Nothing too exciting really, and I didn't want to share about any of that now. "I've mainly just been finishing up school work needed to graduate. Just three more weeks left, and I'm free." Three more weeks, and I should have been a vampire. But I wouldn't think about that now. No point in thinking about what should have been.

"That's good, have you thought about what college you want to go to" I had, of course. I had sent in applications to several colleges, and was approved to all of them. I just didn't know which one I would go to, especially now that my plans had changed, and Edward was gone. _You aren't going to think about him, not here._

"I've been accepted into a few, but I'm not sure which one I want to go to yet." I answered.

"And what career field do you want to go into?" Sam asked me. I hadn't thought too much about it before, thinking that I could just change it every ten years or so, since before my plans consisted of me being a vampire. So I paused, and thought about this.

"I think I might fallow my father's path, and become a cop." I don't know where that answer came from, but some how, it felt right.

Jacob laughed at my answer. "You would be one clumsy cop. I don't think I would trust you holding a gun."

"Hey!" I defended my self, "I'm sure I can manage a fine shot, and if you laugh any harder, I'll make you my first test subject." He stopped laughing, but he still had a smile on his face. Soon, Emily brought us both a plate of eggs and bacon. Jacob's proportions were much greater than mine, and once again I found myself amazed at how much food the guy could take in. Our conversations continued and we talked about the most random of things. My mind scarcely wandered to thoughts of Edward and when it did, I would feel my heart start to tear again. But always at the same time, Jacob would softly touch my shoulder or pat my hand or arm, giving me a strange reassurance that everything was going to be just fine, that this is where I was meant to be.

The four of us talked for about two hours, until Jacob stood up and suggested that we go to the beach. It seemed like a nice idea and it would be another thing that would get my mind off of my troubles. I agreed, and we said our goodbyes to Emily and Sam. "We better see you soon, Bella!" Emily threatened as we walked out the front door.

We took Jacob's car to the shore, where I took my shoes off and together we walked in the sand, occasionally letting the waves brush our feet. We walked in silence, listening to the waves break against the sand bar, Jacob giving me the space I needed, yet not going too far away so that I could still feel his presence.

We walked until we came to a familiar log. It was the same log that I had confronted Jake about being a werewolf, back when I thought that he was a killer. Wordlessly, we both headed for the log, and found a spot that looked comfortable. We sat and stared at the ocean, both of us lost in our own thoughts. Of course mine wandered to Edward. I wandered what was so wrong with me that not even Edward, someone who supposedly "loved" me could stand to be with me. But obviously there wasn't too much wrong with me. Charlie had never left me or told me to get lost, Alice was forced to leave, but she promised to be back soon. I knew she wouldn't break that promise. Mike Newton constantly asked me out, he obviously didn't think that there was any thing wrong with me. And then there was Jacob.

Jacob loved me much more than a friend. He had never left me. In fact he had always been there when my life seemed to be going to shit. He was there to catch me when my Edward had left me to fall. Maybe I was asking the wrong question. I shouldn't be asking "_why would someone who loves me leave me?" _But "_why would I love someone who leaves? How could I love someone who continually hurts me?"_

All of the sudden, Edward's name hurt me a lot less. Don't get me wrong, it still hurt, but not as much as it used to.

I turned to the guy next to me and threw my arms around him. "Thank you Jacob Black"

He looked at me like I had just gone crazy. "umm, okay… what did I do exactly?"

I looked up into his brown eyes. He would never know to the extent that he had saved me. "Thank you for being there when I was falling, not physically, but mentally. Thank you for not hurting me. And most importantly, thank you for not leaving me" when I said that last part a tear came up, I felt it slowly start its way down my cheek, but it never finished it's route. Jacob's finger caught it half way down.

"I could never leave you, Bella. Not unless you told me to go." Somehow, when he said this, I knew it was the truth.

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_I am extremely happy now – cause I know exactly where this is going. And it makes me smile. There will be love, there will be separation, there will be death and most importantly there will be Edward!_

_Review! I always do love those_


	3. Chapter 3

_I apologize greatly for not updating in a while! I've been really busy lately with moving to a new house, emergency trips from California to Idaho, and being deathly ill with some mystery bug – doc didn't know what it was – so i'm sorry- _

_Thanks for the wonderful reviews too! – I'm oh so glad to see Jacob lovers out there- and I've noticed more j/b stories lately – which makes me happy – okay – I'm going to shut up and let you all read now!_

_O – And I need a disclaimer – sorry – the twilight characters are not mine. They belong to Stephanie Meyer – so no one sue me or anything _

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"The real test of friendship is: can you literally do nothing with the other person? Can you enjoy those moments of life that are utterly simple?"

-Eugene Kennedy

**Chapter 3:**

That day on the beach was stuck in my mind. It was yet another promise to never leave. What made this one different from the other? Why was it so easy to believe Jacob, when so recently another man had broken his?

_Because it's the truth. _It was a scary thought, but deep down, my little Jiminy Cricket was telling me just that. My fragile heart didn't want to believe, it was too close too damaged all ready. But there was that little cricket, whispering in the background. _He'll fix it! Jacob will mend your heart, Jacob will fill your soul!_

Damn the little cricket. I wasn't ready for this.

But of course, with out even realizing it, I was listening to that little cricket. When ever I could, I would go up to La Push. Even if it I could only stay for a little while, just seeing Jacob smile was enough to make me feel whole.

Two Saturdays following the scene at the beach, I found myself in Jacob's garage. One of his friends was paying him to get their 1965 mustang convertible to run. It was gorgeous vehicle, and I got to sit in the driver's seat and pretend that I owned it. The hood was down, and I could almost feel the wind blowing my hair. Almost. We talked for hours while he worked, and when no talking took place, the silence was comfortable, with light clinking sounds of metal hitting metal, and the faint music of one of Jacob's CDs coming from his stereo. Everything was back to the way it was before Alice saw me jump. Before the two of us went on our mission to Italy to save Edward.

Jacob's presence was once again a comfort, the pack welcomed me back with opened arms, after a bit of reprimand about leaving them for a bunch of "blood-suckers" of course, and Charlie and Billy had agreed to a fishing trip which I'm assuming meant they had worked out there issues involving the Cullens.

There were only two things that were different from before. Alice had called, and the two of us agreed to see each other once a month, her excuse was that "someone has to make sure you are wearing proper clothes." While we both know she wanted to avoid another incident like the last one, this arrangement was fine with me. There was no reason to loose a good friend just because her brother and I had our differences.

The second difference was Jacob. I no longer thought of him as a brother. That little candle in my heart had been re-lit, and I was falling for the guy who protected me. The smoke from Edward's love was still there, and my heart still ached when his name was mentioned. It did, after all, take longer than a week to forget about an old love, but I would recover.

"Hey, Bella! Turn the key would ya?" the key to the car was already in the ignition. I twisted the key, and waited for the engine to turn over. It struggled for a moment, and right when I thought it wasn't going to work, the rumbling sound of the engine filled the garage. Jacob gave a loud whoop, and I cheered with him. The smile on his face as he closed the lid was priceless. Thought his face had matured long ago, the little boy was still hiding there inside him, and he was coming out now, at the sound of the engine, we had gotten to work.

"How did you get it work so fast?" I asked him, enjoying the little twinkle in his eye as he walked towards the driver's door where I was sitting.

"Fast? Are you kidding? I've been working on this baby all day!"

"Exactly! I'm sure it would have taken me a month to fix it."

"Which is exactly why I left you sitting in the car, now scoot over so we can take her for a test drive." He opened the door, and began pushing me towards the passenger side.

"Excuse me, but there is a perfectly good open seat on the _passenger _side of the car that seems to be calling your name." The excitement on his face fell a little as he realized my challenge, but what can I say, it was a COOL car, I would be crazy if I didn't try to drive.

"Oh no! I'm the one who fixed her, I'll be doin' the driving." His voice was stern, but hidden behind it was a bit of amusement, so I didn't give in easily.

"And while you've been fixing it, I've been sitting here, dreaming about driving it. What kind of person goes and takes away a girl's dreams, huh?" I gave him the best smile I could and patted the seat next to me. A growl came from deep with in Jacob's chest. It was a warning. Deep, scary, and all I needed to scoot to the passenger seat.

I tried, and I gave a pretty good fight I think. It was probably a better idea to have him drive anyway. With my luck, I would have crashed the car, and have to explain to Jacob's friend why he wouldn't be driving his beloved car any time soon.

A small smile appeared on Jake's face when I started to move, and as he sat down behind the wheel, the smile got bigger. "Don't get too excited buddy, you're going to have to give it back in the morning."

"Yeah, but tonight, I can pretend that it's mine"

"And you won't even share! Shame on you, Jacob!" Okay, so I still really wanted to drive it too. I didn't normally care about cars – but come on, it was a '65 mustang.

"I am sharing" he defended him self as he put the car in reverse and pulled out of the garage, "I'm just not letting you drive."

"Right, and how is that sharing exactly?"

"You can still feel the wind on your face, and hear the rumble of the engine. It's not like I'm leaving home at the garage."

"You're impossible." I said, folding my arms across my chest with a little "hmph" ending the talk about driving. I really did just want to feel the wind against my face, so I was happy either way, but I wouldn't let him know that.

Jacob laughed at my reaction and slowly started gaining speed as he got onto the main road. As we got onto the high way his face became covered with a look of concentration. "It doesn't take that much thought to drive a car, does it?"

He glanced at me and with a smile said "Only for you." I hit his arm as hard as I could, knowing that most likely it didn't hurt him. "Okay, okay, I'm listening to the engine to make sure that all the sounds it's making our normal. It's harder to tell on old cars since they make so much noise, but I got to make sure that I get out all the glitches before I return it, which is why we call this a test run."

"Well, it may be a test run for you, but it's a joy ride for me." and with that I sat back, relaxed, and enjoyed the wind blowing against my face. Lucky for me, I put my hair up this morning so it wasn't going to get all wind blown and tangled like it does when you let your hair just fly around. Renee had a convertible once, and I remember what a pain it was when she insisted on driving with the hood down, and I didn't have anything to put my hair up with, my hair was always a mess after words. Luckily, it wasn't that often due to the dry heat that came with living in Arizona. I know usually you would think heat, convertible, good, but when it's dry heat, and you're in a convertible – well it's kind of like your sitting in front of a giant hairdryer on its hottest setting. It's not fun.

But this was the perfect temperature for a convertible. The sun was just about to set, so it was still light enough to see, and the sky wasn't covered with clouds like usual. That and the fact that Jacob was next to me made it a definite joy ride, for me at least.

Less five minuets into the ride, I knew Jake was driving towards the beach. I closed my eyes, and enjoyed the feel of the wind against my face, since I knew it wouldn't last long. The beach was only a few miles away after all. Sure enough, I was right. The car came to stop, and the engine stopped running.

"My turn to drive?" I said with a big smile. My voice was fast, high pitched and full of hope that went crashing down as he laughed.

"I don't think so." He answered me. I pouted my lip in response and Jacob shook his head. He took the keys out of the ignition and got out of the car. "Are you coming?" he yelled back as he walked towards the shore. I got out of the car and raced to catch up with him.

When we reached the area where the sand starts to slope down to the shore line, Jacob stopped and collapsed to the ground grabbing my arm to pull me down with him. He pulled me into his lap, and encircled his arms around me, making me realize how small I was or maybe it just how big he was. He held me in such a way that I was forced to look straight ahead, straight into the most magnificent sight.

I had seen sunsets before, but none were like this. The sun had just touched the top of the water, giving the surface a sparkly shine. The sky above was a sublime mixture of different shades of orange and purple. It was one of those sights that had an artist with amazing talent been able to catch it on paper, it would have sold for thousands. It was the type of sunset that brought peace to your heart, and showed you that even though life brought tough times, in the end, it would be beautiful. There was always some reward waiting, if you could find it. For the sun, after a long day of harshly shining down upon the world, it received its moment of glory and beauty.

"Gorgeous, isn't it?"

"It's perfect." I shifted my body closer against Jacob's chest, relishing the comfort that his body offered. We sat there for the rest of the sunset, taking in every bit of it. Memorizing every position that the sun fell into as it made it's decent, along with the melodic movement of the ocean as it broke on the sand bar.

After the sun was cloaked by Earth's surface, we continued to sit there enjoying the last signs of light. It didn't take long for the first star to appear.

"Star light, Star bright," I smiled as Jacob said the beginning of the old childhood rhyme, and couldn't help but finish it in my head _first star I see tonight, I wish I may I wish I might, have this wish I wish tonight. I wish that this heart ache would go away._

It was a random wish, but an honest one.

"Hey Bella?" Jacob's voice had a little shake to it, as if he was nervous about something, which of course got me curious.

"Yeah?"

"Umm, I was wondering if you would like to have dinner with me?" why was he nervous about that? weren't we planning on getting together with the pack to eat, he shouldn't have to ask me

"I was planning on it. Charlie isn't expecting me home until around one so I should be here until you and the pack leave for your run."

"No, Bella, you misunderstood" now he sounded really nervous "I mean dinner with just the two of us, off of the reservation. Some where nice."

_Oh, that's why he sounded nervous. _I turned around to look straight into his eyes. "Jacob Black, are you asking me out on a date?"

"Never mind, it's probably too soon, plus, you've said you can never see me as more than a brother, so forget I asked"

I don't know what possessed me to do what I did next. It must have been that damn Jiminy Cricket again, urging me on, or maybe it was all me. I reached up for his face, and brought it closer down to me, and kissed him. Right smack on the lips. And I'm not talking about a peck. No! I kissed him.

"I would love to go on a date with you."

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_There should be more fluff coming up between Jacob and bella – I'm not sure, since I don't real plan that stuff, it just comes out when I feel the moment calls for it- - -_

_Please – tell me what is liked, - tell me what it needs – and what I need to fix - critique if you feel so behooved. don't be lazy - i want your opinion!_


	4. Chapter 4

Friendship often ends in love; but love in friendship--never

--Charles Caleb Colton

**Chapter 4:**

Jacob couldn't get the smile off of his face as we walked into Sam and Emily's house. Our first date was arranged for tomorrow night, but that didn't stop him from holding my hand as we entered. Emily was the only one in the house although we knew the rest of the pack couldn't be far. She was in front of a huge steaming pot, big enough for me to sit in.

Okay, maybe that's an exaggeration – but you can definitely fit a few limbs in that thing.

Emily turned as she heard our approaching footsteps and her face went blank with shock. Slowly, her arms came up to her chest and crossed, a stern look rising to her face. "Bella, can I talk to you for a moment, privately please?" she placed the spoon that she had been using to stir the mystery substance in the pot onto the counter and left down the hallway to her bedroom, with out waiting for my reply.

I glanced up at Jacob to find that he looked just as confused as I felt. "I think you should follow her. She doesn't like to wait." I didn't question him.

I went down the hallway to find Emily standing in front of a door that led to the bedroom her and Sam shared. She motioned me inside and shut the door behind us. It was a small room, barely large enough to fit a queen size bed and a dresser. On top of the dresser was a vase that held some fresh flowers sitting next to a small picture of Emily and Sam. Emily leaned against the closed door, blocking any chance of an escape and stared directly into my eyes. I felt like a little girl about to be told off by her mother; despite the fact that there was only about a five year difference between the two of us.

I had no idea what I had done, but obviously something. She didn't look too pleased. I was racing through my mind, thinking of possibilities, but the only thing I could come up with was my relationship with Jacob. After all her mood changed when she noticed that we were holding hands, but why would this upset her?

Finally she spoke, answering my unvoiced questions. "Are you using Jacob?" I was both shocked and hurt by her accusations. She was worried that I was going to hurt Jacob. In a way, I could see where she got the idea. Edward leaves, I go to Jacob. It had happened twice now, only last time, when Edward had come back I returned to him, just like his little lamb, leaving Jake behind. But it was different now, if Edward returned, I would not go back to him. Not when I had Jacob by my side.

"No" I said, still a little hurt "I care about him, Emily, he's there for me when I need him."

"But you're not there when he needs you." It hurt, but it was partially true, I had left him the minuet Edward had returned. "I don't want to see him hurt like he was last time, Bella."

"What can I say? I made a mistake, I was blinded by love. But sometimes there are other things that bring two people together.

"And what if that little blood sucker of yours comes back? Will you run right back to him again?"

"No, I won't. I won't lie, I still care for…Edward, but I won't go back to him. He broke my heart too many times, I'm going to stay with the one that's putting it back together. I don't think I would know how to leave Jacob right now." I wasn't sure where this was all coming from. Some hidden treasure chest that was full of passion for Jacob had been found when we were at the beach, and now I knew I would stay with him. No mater how I felt for Edward.

"How do I know you're not just trying to get the blood sucker jealous? So that he'll just come back to you?" I know that Emily likes me, and cares about me too. But her feelings for Jacob were stronger. She had known him longer than me and would always do what ever she could to keep him, or any of the pack members, from suffering unnecessary pain.

"You're going to have to trust me Emily. I'm not saying there won't be any pain in our relationship. There is always pain in any sort of relationship, but I'm not here now to get back at anyone. I just want to be happy."

She looked at me for a few seconds searching my face for any signs of a lie, but everything I had said had been the truth. When she saw this she nodded, walked to me and gave me a big, motherly hug. "I honestly hope that everything will work out between the two of you."

"Thanks, I do too." She opened the door and we walked to the kitchen.

She looked back at me and gave me one final warning "But if you hurt that boy again, I will make you sorry." Then she continued to her work, "The boys must be starving, I'm surprised they've left us alone this long." She said as she picked up the spoon again and stirred the contents of the big pot one more time. Turning the stove to warm, she asked if I'd go inform the pack that dinner was ready.

"Are they out back?" guessing that would be the only other place they would be since they weren't in the house.

"They should be, it's not like them to stray far from food."

I headed to the little backyard, and found them all there, being typical men. Paul, Sam, Jarred and Jacob were sitting in chairs laughing and watching as Embry and Quill wrestled on the floor. Quill having newly discovered his werewolf abilities was of course no match for Embry. Quill had transformed for the first time, just as Sam suspected, a few months ago after the Cullens had returned. It had been just in time too. Two weeks after his transformation, Victoria had returned once again, only this time getting much closer to succeeding in her quest for revenge. It took all six of them to take her down, but in the end, there efforts had been worth it. The Cullens had been upset that they didn't get a piece of her, but I was just happy that she was gone.

"I swear, you're all animals, every single one of you." Twelve smiling eyes looked up to me, and they all started laughing.

"You know that you wouldn't have us any other way." Quill said as he took the moment of distraction to gain the upper hand over Embry. Quill flipped him over to his back, pinning him to the ground.

"1,2,3…your out Em." Paul shouted.

"I thought you were supposed to count to ten." Not that I was an expert on wrestling or anything.

Sam looked up at me and shrugged. "With our strength and how fast we heal, the fights never end if you count to ten, so we changed the rules for little arguments like these."

"Right, well, dinner's ready." Before I even finished my sentence, the boys went storming into the kitchen for grub, only Jacob slowed to grab me and pull me close to him, throwing his arm around my shoulder as we walked back to the kitchen?

"So, what was the argument about?"

Jacob looked down at me and smiled "to figure out who's going to do the dishes tonight."

"Do they do this every night?"

"Pretty much, except some nights just Sam and I will fight to see who has to do it. The pack got tired of us always beating them and never doing dishes, so we agreed that once a week, one of us would do it. I guess being the strongest has its perks."

Quill having heard that last comment turned around and glared at Jacob, "don't get too cocky, Jacob. Sam can still give that little puppy ass of yours a whippin' if he has too."

"Sam and I both know that we're equal in strength."

Sam was serving himself something from the mystery pot, but still managed to listen in to our conversation. "Actually, Jake, I would say that you are stronger than me. The only reason I can still beat you is because of experience. But I'm sure it won't be long till not even that will help me."

"Don't worry, Sam, I'm sure you have a while until that happens." Paul said, squeezing his way behind Sam to get his food next. Embry and Jarred, having already gotten giant bowls of the unknown grub, were heading back to the yard to sit. Since Quill had joined, it was hard to fit everyone inside the little house. There was much more room when everyone piled outside.

"Come on Paul, hurry up."

"I can take as long as I so please."

"Not when I'm behind you."

Jacob laughed at Quill's threat, making him turn back to Jacob and punch him in the arm. This only made Jacob laugh harder.

Emily, who was standing at the counter cutting what looked like corn bread shook her head at the boy's display. "I see what you mean by needing more girls in the house, Emily. How did you ever manage this by your self?"

"I thought I was going to loose it."

"Hey," Jacob defended, "we aren't that bad." Now both Emily and I were shaking our heads.

Jacob handed me a bowl, "if you want to see bad, I can show you bad. Now get yourself some chili."

- -

The date the following night was simple, yet perfect. Charlie and I had to get up early the next morning to go pick up my mother and Alice from the airport in Seattle. They were both coming up for my graduation that was in three days, and both of them could only find early morning flights. Which left the two of us a four hour drive at four in the morning. Because of this early morning escapade, Jacob and I both thought it best if we stayed close by and just kept the first date a little more casual than he had originally planed.

This is how we found ourselves inside of Pacific Pizza, one of the three pizza places located in forks, with a large pepperoni and sausage pizza with extra cheese sitting in front of us. I was only halfway done with my first slice when Jacob finished his second. It was amazing how much food he could consume in such a small amount of time. As I sat there, watching Jacob take in his food, I was reminded of something my mother had once said. "You know how a man is in bed by the way he eats his food." It didn't make much sense when my mother had said it all those years ago, but now, it made me wonder. What would Jacob be like in bed?

He ate his food with a speed, meant to fill a hunger, but he wasn't a slob about it. Every movement he made towards his food was thought out and made with care. And some how, even with the speed at which he was eating, you can tell that he still managed to savor every bite.

It didn't take long for my mind to wander from the pizza parlor to the bedroom. I didn't see Jacob eating his pizza anymore, instead his mouth was on mine, moving just a little slower than the speed that he ate at. The speed meant to fill hunger, only this hunger was for something a little different.

Soon my shirt was off and I was lying on a bed. _Was it my bed?_ It didn't matter. What mattered was that Jacob's mouth wasn't on my face anymore, but slowly moving south. Even though he moved slowly, his tongue revealed the true speed he wanted to go to fulfill his hunger, but instead, he made every move with thought and care, savoring every lick, every touch. His hand, warm and hot from the werewolf blood coursing through him, slowly started to feel it's way under the waistband of my pants,

"Hey Bella, are you okay?" oops, guess my thoughts might have gone a little too far there.

"umm, yeah!" I tried giving my best smile, but I can tell from the look on his face that he thought something was up.

"are you sure, your face is beat red. Is the food making you ill?"

Ill! Huh! If he could read my mind, his face would probably be just as red. "no, I'm fine." To prove it, I took a big bite of my pizza.

He shrugged, and took another slice. What was that now, his fourth? "Than what did you do to make yourself turn so red?"

My face must have turned a shade darker, because he smiled, and took a bite of his pizza. He was eating slower now, waiting for my answer. "It was nothing"

As soon as his mouth was clear, which took all of two seconds, he responded with a 'don't give me that shit' look on his face. "Now we both know that's not true. You're as red as a tomato." He put down his pizza, and crossed his arms. "The question is, what could you have done in less than two minuets, with out moving a muscle?" his eyebrows went up waiting for an answer that I was not willing to give. I sat there, not knowing what to say. _A lie, come up with a lie. _A smile slowly started to slither onto his face. "or should I be asking where did your mind go for two minuets, leaving you with a bright red face?"

Uh oh, he was getting closer to the truth. Got to think of something. "Pizza's good." Taking another bite of my pizza, I tried to get the blush of my face, and focus on something else besides Jacob.

"Are you trying to change the subject?"

"Absolutely not. What do snow men eat for breakfast?"

"Okay, we'll just come back to the question later. But don't think I'll forget about it."

"Okay, okay, fine." I took a deep breath "I was think about the way you eat."

"The way I eat?"

I nodded my head. I wasn't going to inform him of everything that I was thinking, just where it all started.

"You're telling me, that the way I eat, caused you to blush that red?" oh, yeah, I forgot that a guy's ego could be wounded so easily.

"It's not a bad thing, It was kind of..." I had almost said 'hot' from thinking about what came after the eating, but I caught myself, figuring that he might catch on to what else I was thinking. "cute" I finished

"Cute?"

"Yeah, cute."

"You're a very strange girl." Jacob picked his pizza back up and finished it, starting on yet another slice.

"But you wouldn't have me any other way." I said with a smile, quoting quill from last night's dinner. I grabbed my second slice as he smiled down at me.

"So, what does a snow man eat for breakfast?" I was hoping he would forget about that. It was lame joke, and my sorry attempt at changing the subject.

"Snowflakes."

Jake snorted and shook his head. Conversation went on from that. It wasn't long till all the pizza was gone, (I swear I only I had two slices) but the conversation continued. It wasn't until around nine that Jacob checked the time. He quickly paid the tab and rushed me out to his car. "I'm sorry, Bella. I told you we would get you back early, so you can get some sleep tonight."

"Its okay, hanging out with you is worth the lack of sleep." I grabbed his right hand and held it, letting him drive one handed and enjoying the last five minutes we had before we would hit Charlie's house. The five minutes were up in what felt like seconds. We turned the corner that was a block away from the house, and Jacob pulled to the side, putting the car in park, but leaving the engine running.

"Bella, thank you for going to dinner with me tonight." Aww, how polite.

"No. Thank _you._ It was perfect Jake."

"I'm glad you had fun. Are you going to make it up to La Push this week?"

"Not while Alice I here. I'm not going to abandon her at the house, and she can't set a foot on the reservation. So I'm going to stay with her."Jacob growled at the mention of Alice's name, which made me smile. "I'm going to see you at the graduation, though, right?"

"Isn't the bloo,"

"Hey!"

"Sorry. Isn't _Alice_ going to be at the graduation?"

"Yes, but she will behave if you do, and I want you there. When else are you going to be able to meet my mother?"

"okay, but don't expect me to sit next to the vamp."

"you won't have to, just promise to not get into any fights."

He pouted a little before saying, with a deep husky voice "I promise." Then his lips were on mine. It was his turn to kiss me. His lips were full and warm and tasted vaguely of the after dinner mint we had both taken from the pizza place. His tongue lightly grazed over my lower lip, silently begging for entrance and I wasn't about to deny it. Seconds later, I could taste not only the mint, but Jacob as well. It was a great taste, and I could think of no way to explain it. But the taste was him. The kiss was much different than any kiss I had ever gotten from Edward. It was deeper, and filled with more want than I had ever felt. It was rough, yet gentle at the same time. Much like the kiss I had experienced in my little fantasy, but ten times better.

It was a perfect kiss to end a perfect date.

-

-

_How is it – I love the critiques people- so please review!!!_

_**Brokenxtwilight- **yes, every one loves Edward, and he will be back- but you got to wait- just stick with me- he plays a big role later!!!_

_**Flowersbloomangelsfall- **it does need more drama – and that drama will come, hopefully in a few chapters. I'm trying to get everyone to understand Bella and Jacob's relationship first. So just enjoy the good times – cause the future has a lot of pain and suffering!_

_**Everyone else** – thank you for the reviews, I'm glad you're enjoying it. Keep reviewing!_

_And if you hate it, please tell me why!_


	5. Chapter 5

Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.  
-Dr. Seuss

**Chapter 5:**

Because I'm not a cruel person, I won't go and review a four hour drive with Charlie. And nothing too special happened after picking up Renee and Alice, so I'll just skip straight to the day of my graduation.

The smell of bacon woke me out of my sleep and brought me immediately down stairs to see who was responsible for the blissful morning smell. I wasn't positive of who was cooking- but I knew it wasn't Charlie since 1) he didn't cook and 2) he had left early that morning to go to the police station. He was going to meet my mom and Alice at the school when the graduation ceremonies started.

When I entered the kitchen I immediately had to hold back laughter. My tone death mother was standing next to the stove with Alice by her side. Both of them had a spatula in their hand and were using them as if they were microphones. They were singing, if you could call it that, on the top of there lungs.

"We will find you  
Acting on your best behavior  
Turn your back on mother nature  
Everybody wants to rule the world"

Their hips started moving to the tune that I'm sure they both heard in there heads. I had never heard the song before, but they both seemed to know it really well.

"It's my own design  
It's my own remorse  
Help me to decide  
Help me make the most  
Of freedom and of pleasure  
Nothing ever lasts forever  
Everybody wants to rule the world"

I couldn't take it anymore, it was great comedy, but my mother really couldn't sing, and watching her dance to it too… well there was only so much I could take. I had to find some way to stop them."What are you two signing?"

Alice of course was the first one to notice me. "The best of the eighties, my friend. It's "everybody wants to rule the world" by _Tears for Fears_."

I shook my head "never heard of them."

Renee looked over at me, her face still a little red from embarrassment, I guess that's where the blushing came from "Alice knows almost all the songs from when I was in high school, it's like she lived during that time."

Alice smiled at the comment, but kept her mouth shut leaving me to respond. "Alice is a major history buff, she loves reading into all the different time periods. Especially those in the nineteen hundreds"

Alice shrugged "Everyone has there geeky side, I guess."

"And what is you favorite time period?" leave it to my mother to ask all the questions.

Alice thought about this for a second, and then nodded her head, confirming something to herself. "I think the fifties are my favorite."

When she said this, my mind went back to the day that Edward told me the whole Cullen family history. I could definitely see why those were her favorite years. She had just found Jasper and together they found the rest of the Cullen family. Those years were her first years with a family.

"The fifties, really? And why is that?" my mother, naïve to all of this, still had to ask.

A sneaky grin appeared on Alice's face as she responded "James Dean, need I say more?"

My mother and I both laughed and a picture flashed into my mind, making me realize why James Dean, was so significant. "Hey Alice, Jasper would make a good James Dean, don't you think." All she had to do was smile, and I knew that we were on the same page. (_a/n-sorry-brief history lesson-for those youngins, James Dean is a 50's actor who sadly died in a car crash with his beautiful sports car a Porsche 550 spyder in 1955 at the age of 24 – he was young, __**hot **__and had dirty blond hair – and he just so happened to be the first person I thought of when I originally read Stephanie Meyer's description of Jasper – okay – sorry for the interruption – back to the story!)_

I walked over to the stove where she was flipping pancakes. "So, what is this wonderful smell that dragged me out of bed?"

"Blueberry pancakes, bacon and eggs: It's your graduation breakfast." Renee was taking eating utensils from the drawers and cupboards and setting them onto the table.

"What can I do to help?" my mother slapped my wrist when I reached for the plates that she was carrying and shoed me away.

"This is your graduation, so we're making _you_ breakfast, not the other way around. Now go sit, and wait to be served."

I obeyed, knowing that it was useless to argue with my mother. It didn't take long for Alice and Renee to come to the table, both with arms full of food. The smell was amazing, making my stomach immediately growl. The first thing I went for was the pancakes, fallowed immediately by the bacon, then the eggs. All of it tasted as good as it smelled. My mother and I both chowed down, until our stomachs could hold no more, and although Alice appeared to be doing the same thing, I noticed the napkin in her lap slowly growing from all the food she kept sneaking into it.

Since they had let me sleep in, Alice only had two hours to "Beautify" me for the ceremony at twelve-thirty. We had just finished cleaning the table, and were heading up the stairs to get ready when Alice froze. Her eyes closed, and a little scowl rolled on to her face. Luckily my mother was still in the kitchen, so she didn't witness the abnormal behavior. I'm not too sure how I would explain to my mother that Alice was "just having a vision." Maybe I could have told her it was indigestion or something.

After a few seconds, Alice opened her eyes. Her face was void of emotion. She just looked at me, and continued on to my room.

"Alice," I said in a low voice, so as not to be overheard by my mother. "What did you see?"

She entered my room and started gathering all the things she needed to do my hair and make-up. "Sit down on the bed so we can start." Her voice was off, filled with many different emotions: hurt, confusion, and what sounded like hate.

"What did you see Alice?" I sat on the bed and waited for the answer. It didn't come, instead she started brushing out my hair that was still tangled from sleep, and she wasn't gentle.

"Owe! Easy Alice, I'm still human, remember?"

"Sorry." She said, but she wasn't. She had been rough on purpose; luckily she came to her senses. Taking a deep breath, she started combing through my hair with more care.

"Alice! Talk to me. What happened? What's going to happen?" Alice put the brush down and sat on the bed so that she was facing me.

"When were you planning on telling me?" I couldn't figure out what she was talking about. Tell her what?

At my confused look, she continued, but what she said still didn't help with my confusion. "I mean, I get that I'm Edward's sister, and that you might not want to hurt him, but…I'm you're best friend. You should have told me about this."

"Alice, I don't know…"

"And the fact that he's a _werewolf!" _Crap! This was about Jacob.

I didn't get around to informing her about Jacob and me. I had been trying to find the right time, but I kept putting it off. I should have known that she would have seen something about our relationship eventually. I let my hair fall in front of my face to hide my blush as she continued. "I mean, I'm not going to get mad at that. I don't like him, that's for sure. But we're born enemies, so I can't really help that. But a _werewolf _for a boyfriend! Bella, be realistic here, that's worse than dating a vampire."

"Alice!" I interrupted her little rant. This is why I had been avoiding this talk. I didn't want to hear about how dangerous it was to be with Jacob. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about him. I've been looking for the right time,"

"The right time? When was that going to be? As we were entering the gym at the school? You definitely held it off till last minute."

"I'm sorry, I really wanted to tell you, I just didn't want to spoil the time we had, so I kept putting it off."

"Bella, it wouldn't have spoiled anything." I glared at her and she corrected that last sentence. "okay, so I would have been upset for a little while, but I wouldn't let it get in the way of anything that we were doing."

"Alice, we both know you would have been nagging me about it all week."

"Okay, that's probably true, but Bella, he's a werewolf! you know how dangerous they can me."

"Yes, as dangerous as a vampire."

"Bella, we can control ourselves."

"They can too. So some of them find it a little more difficult, But Jacob is the strongest in the pack. He can control himself better than Sam, their pack leader. Which is why I trust the two of you will get along at the Graduation."I said this last pit with a emphasis so Alice would get my point. She went quite, digesting everything she had just discovered, knowing that what she tried to say to me would just go in on ear and out the other. What can I say? I can be stubborn. "Out of curiosity, what did you see exactly in the vision?"

She looked at me and smiled. "You were in you're graduation robes, looking for somebody. When you saw him, you're whole face lit up. You raced over to him and kissed him." her face squinched with distaste, "Quite hard too, I must say. It was almost like watching Emmet and Rosalie." I laughed, but quieted when she said with a sly voice, "He had a surprise for you too, but I'll let you wait for that."

"What! You can't do that!"

"Yes I can. You didn't tell me that you had a boyfriend, so I'm not telling you what he got for you!" it was useless, she wasn't going to give in. She started working on my hair again as she asked "So, how long has this little relation ship of yours been going on?"

The next two hours was filled with hair, makeup, fashion and Q&A about Jacob. She especially found it amusing when I told her that I kissed Jacob first, and not the other way around. I'm pretty sure Alice was just trying to figure out what it was that I saw in him. Why I would choose to be with a werewolf. Whether she figured it out or not, I wasn't sure, but after the rather long inquisition, she seemed to be a little less aggressive towards him, when ever his name was brought up.

After what seemed like an eternity, Alice's glamorize torture was complete. She shooed me to the bathroom, to examine her work, and I was once again shocked at Alice's skills. Even I had to admit that I looked beautiful with what she had done. My hair was straightened, with a few loose ringlets here and there, to give it some texture and volume and part of it was pulled back to make my face more visible. What she had done with the make-up, I'm not sure, but it was very well done. Alice managed to accentuate all the good qualities of my face, and added just a little bit of an eye color that matched the dress she made me buy for the graduation. Everything she did gave off a simple appearance, yet, it still showed the fashionable, glamour side that Alice loved so much. How this took two hours, I don't know. But the end result was fantastic.

"Do you like it?" Alice had followed me to the bathroom, and was now examining my reflection in the mirror, waiting for my answer.

I turned to her, and with a big smile, gave her a quick hug. "I love it, thank you."

Alice left me to wait downstairs with Renee so I could finish getting ready. Soon I myself was heading down the stairs, ready to officially be out of that hell called "high school."

"Bella! You look beautiful!" my mother's cries filled the room when she saw me. She raced over and gave me a big hug. "I forget sometimes that you're not my little baby anymore."

"Umm, Thanks mom." I pulled away from the embrace, slightly embarrassed, and most likely blushing. "We should get going; I don't want to be late." Since Charlie had the police cruiser, and both Alice and Renee had flown down here, we were stuck using the old truck. Some how the three of us squeezed into it, my mother was in the passenger seat, I was behind the wheel, and Alice was squeezed in between us. Luckily we are all rather small females, so it wasn't too tight in the truck.

More than half of the seventy five seniors were already at the school, the others were no more than a few minuets behind me. I was just as anxious as all of the other seniors, after today, we would never have to set foot in a high school class room again. Almost all of the students noticed that Alice Cullen was with me, and I'm sure there was talk about her temporary return. When they left, it was said that they left back to Alaska for a family emergency. Some of the students nodded to her, and she would nod back, a few said "hello," but they would usually walk straight on, never staying too long in her presence. Only about two students had the nerve to ask her about where she had gone, and if she had graduated. Although she only left about a month prior, she told everyone that she had received her diploma at the high school that she had transferred to. Although I happen to know, that she hadn't gone to any school after leaving forks.

The seniors branched off into a different section of the school to get a cap and gown checked out to them, and then to assembled to their designated spots to begin the ceremony.

Although it was the end of May, it was Forks, and since it was Forks, it was raining. The ceremony was being held in the gym. Chairs had already been set up for all of the faculty and the seniors. Family sat in the bleachers that surrounded the gym floor to give them all a better view of their loved ones entering the real world. I didn't have time to find Charlie and Jacob before the graduation, so I just had to trust that they all found each other, and that Alice and Jacob would get along.

Soon "The Graduation Song" could be heard playing through the whole gym, and one by one, all the seniors filed into the gym. We found our seats and waited for all the graduation Baccalaureate and speeches to begin. I tried to listen, I really did, but they just wouldn't hold my attention. Instead, I found my self trying to discreetly scan the room for not only my family and Alice, but for Jacob too. It didn't take long to find Alice and Renee, they kept waving, trying to catch my attention. I smiled back at them, letting them know that I saw them, and silently praying that they would quit waiving. It was a graduation ceremony, not a parade! Charlie was sitting with them, and thankfully not waiving, but he did smile at me.

I still couldn't find Jacob. I wouldn't think he would be that hard to find, but I couldn't spot him. I looked up front to see that an honor student was speaking now about the future. I tied once again to focus on the speech, but my mind was stubborn. It was looking again for Jacob. _Maybe he didn't come. _But no. he said that he would, and Alice saw it in her vision.

Students started standing up, preparing to go up for their turn to officially finish high school. That's when I started paying attention, not wanting to fall out of order. Time seemed to slow down, making it seem like forever before I got my turn to flip the tassel on my hat to the other side. I watched as the people I had become familiar with became graduates: Mike Newton, Jessica, Angela. All of them with a smile covering there whole face as they looked out to there fiends and family that cheered them on.

And then it was me. I handed the speaker the slip of paper with my name on it, and he called my name "_Isabella Swan!" _I heard many woops and yells of cheer as I walked up and accepted the "diploma," which was actually just a rolled up piece of white paper since the real one is mailed out to you later, from the principal and shook his hand. After shaking the hand of several other people who were there, I returned to my seat, and applauded as the rest of the seniors were called.

Once every one was seated again and the cheers and applauding quieted, the principal went and said his final farewell. It was much shorter than the speeches, and ended with him giving all of the graduates the signal to flip our tassels on our hats to the other side.

The graduation ceremony was over.

My high school years were over.

This is where all the challenges that life has in store will start, all the drama that I suffered through in high school barely marking the beginning of the life ahead of me.

Graduates were joining with there families, and saying good byes to friends, some of whom they will never see again. I looked up then, and that's when I saw him. Jacob was in the back of the gym away from all the other crowds, which is probably why I couldn't find him before, with a big smile on his face. I knew that my parents and Alice would want to see me, but I couldn't help myself. I walked, well, more like ran, over to where Jacob was standing with one arm behind his back.

"You came!" it was a rather pathetic thing to say, which kind of made me blush, but Jacob just smiled.

"Of course I came, you asked me too." I liked that answer. "And, I brought you something."

Oh, yeah, I forgot about Alice's vision. "What is it?" I asked, still curious about what it could be.

He pulled his hand out from behind his back to show me what he had been hiding. It was a great big sunflower, which I hadn't been aware could grow out here, with it always so cold and rainy. What caught my attention, however, was not the flower, but the object attached to it. It was some sort of feather. It's markings were beautifully symmetrical, and all black and white. My finger went up, and lightly stroked the feather, showing me how soft it was, and from the size of the feather, it must have come from a very large bird.

"It's beautiful."

"It's an eagle feather. I found it while I was running with the pack. Eagles are protectors, and they leave their feathers behind for those who need extra protection. The eagle is very sacred animal, just like the wolf. In some tribes, it is illegal to own such a feather, unless you have special permission. It will keep you out of harms way, since I can't be with you every single minuet of every day."

There was a time when Jacob didn't believe any of his native stories and traditions, but now that he's matured, and have seen the traditions unfold, he followed more and more of them each day. "I promise I'll take great care of it." I wasn't too naïve, I knew how important certain animals were to certain tribes. And if the Eagle was a protector, than I would take all the protection I could get. "Thank you, Jacob"

He smiled, obviously glad that I liked the feather, and I did like it. I had never gotten a gift like it. I was unique, and it was from Jacob. "Bella, if I kiss you right now, would Charlie get mad?"

I laughed and shook my head. "Charlie probably wouldn't even realize what he was seeing." Either that or he would be very happy. Jacob could never do wrong in front of Charlie.

Jacob put a free hand on my cheek, and his thumb slightly grazed back and forth. "And what about your mother?"

Now that one was a little harder to predict. "I guess you're going to have to kiss me and find out."

And so he did. One of those wonderful deep kisses that he does. A Jacob kiss. And I'm assuming this was the kiss that Alice had seen in her vision.

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_Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up I don't have computer access that often – which means that it takes longer to get chapters up __**– so I apologize!!!!–**__ this chapter is still part of the information chapter – so it kind of dragged on in parts -the plot will start to reveal its self in a few chapters – I guess I just get carried away with the minor stuff – sorry. _

_Thank you to all who review – your advise is helpful – and your encouragements are very encouraging! So thank you very much!_

_**Katben222- **__don't worry about Edward – I don't know for sure when he will be back – but it wont be for a good 3 years, at the very least- and sorry, no fight – I want Alice and Jacob to learn to get along. Where is the fun when your boyfriend and your best friend hate each other?_

_**Dark angel- **__sorry can't tell you what will happen – it gives too much away_

_**Emanneppename- **__I know it jumps – but I figure if I was dumped twice by the same guy – I would jump myself – I wouldn't want to constantly remind myself of the guy – which is what I'm trying to do – and I tend to have a thing for the underdog (not to mention the fact that I just happen to have a thing for werewolves…)_

_**Lost-in-tears – **__thankyou – love your support!_

_**Brokenxtwilight- **__it's not just "m" for sexual content – which I try not to do too much of…-but for other stuff that will happen later _

_-I think that's all the questions that I noticed – got more questions? Ask-I'll answer---if I can. Thanks to all the wonderful feedback_

_--okay – shutting up know – but don't be afraid to review!!!_


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